The crystal ball glimmered with an iridescence of days of future past. The nearby flickering candles threw shadows of things yet to be upon the orbs crystalline matrix. The prophet, withered and aged, breathed deeply of the smokey air and continued to gaze deeply into the heart of the crystal. Deep within his brain, universal connections that bind us all in a web of wholeness are stimulated by the hypnotic shapes that danced faintly in the ball.

Time and space are one and all information contained within reality are available to those who can master their intellect and allow the stream of information to be downloaded directly into the brain -- bypassing the rational mind that would block anything received through such unconventional methods. The prophet sighs in contentment.

A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as ashew stone (or show stone— "shew" is an archaic spelling of "show").

A body of water, either in a container or on the ground, used for this purpose, is called a scrying pool.

Art of scryingMain articles: Scrying and Crystal gazingThe art or process of "seeing" is known as "scrying", whereby images are claimed to be seen in crystals, or other media such as water, and are interpreted as meaningful information. The "information" gleaned then is used to make important decisions in one's life (i.e. love, marriage, finances, travel, business, etc.).[1]By contrast, some professed seers say that they do not actually see images in the crystal itself, but rather that the featureless interior of the stone facilitates them in clearing their mind of distractions so that future truths or events will become known to them.[2]When the technique of scrying is used with crystals, or any transparent body, it is known as crystallomancy or crystal gazing.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_ball

Wiccans and Pagans have an animal companion that they consider their familiar. A familiar is part of the family. A familiar is often defined as an animal with whom we have a magical connection. If an animal has appeared in your life unexpectedly -- such as a stray cat that appears regularly, for instance -- it's possible that the animal may have been drawn to you magickally!